The invention relates to a mirror housing for an exterior rear-view mirror on a vehicle with a mirror face received in a sunken manner in a mirror housing opening and with a water channel around the housing adjacent the opening.
German Patent Document DE 34 29 493 C1 discloses a mirror housing for an exterior rear-view mirror of a motor vehicle, in which housing there are formed two water-discharging channels arranged one behind the other in the direction of travel. This arrangement of two channels running one behind the other instead of the conventional single channel results in less of the water, which comes into contact with the mirror housing, coming into contact with the side window of the motor vehicle and/or running over the mirror face. However, it is not always possible for a relatively large quantity of water to be received reliably by the two water channels.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,598,469 describes an exterior mirror housing of a motor vehicle, which housing exhibits, on the lower mirror edge, a strip which is oriented in the direction of the tail (vehicle rear end) and downwards. The strip is intended to produce an air swirl, adjoining the mirror face, which is directed along the plane of the latter and draws water way from the mirror face. The air stream, which is charged with the full quantity of impinging water and, on the rear side of the strip, also receives the water drawn away from the mirror face, is subsequently forced upwards again by the relative wind and throws the quantity of water against the adjacent side window.
German Patent Document DE 26 47 747 C3 describes an exterior rear-view mirror for motor vehicles which collects and channels away water in a pointed lip running around it. The pointed lip projects with its outer edge in the direction of the water impinging in driving mode, as a result of which water is swirled up here and can come into contact in an uncontrolled manner both with the mirror face and with the side window of the vehicle. Moreover, the lip can cause the driving noise to increase to a whistle.
The same problems are met in the case of the design of a mirror housing according to German Patent Documents DE 21 40 393 B1 and DE 22 65 036 A1, in which documents the water channel likewise projects from the mirror housing towards the impinging quantity of water and thus makes excess water turbulent rather that channelling it in a controlled manner away from the adjacent side window and from the mirror face. Here, too, an increase in noise can occur in driving mode.
An object of the invention is to design a mirror housing having a water channel of the generic type, such that even a relatively large quantity of impinging water is largely kept away from the adjacent side window.